Take a Tour of St. John’s College in Annapolis—Steeped in United States and Maryland History

Welcome to St. John’s College, the third oldest college in America, founded in 1696 as the King William’s School. Four of the college’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, George Washington visited the school in 1791, and Abraham Lincoln walked the grounds in 1865. Other notable visitors include First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights leader W. E. B. Du Bois, and American folk legend Woody Guthrie.

Today, the college is one of the country’s premier liberal arts colleges due to our distinctive Great Books curriculum. At St. John’s, undergraduate and graduate students read more than 200 of the greatest books ever written across dozens of subjects and discuss those books with our faculty in small, seminar-style classes.

The campus grounds are open to the public. The Admissions Office, located in the Charles Carroll Barrister House, offers student-led campus tours, and self-guided tours are available using your mobile device.

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Sites of Interest

Alumni Memorial Tablets

Alumni Memorial Tablet on Annapolis Campus

These memorials, located on front campus, honor the St. John’s alumni who died in service to their country.

 

Barr-Buchanan Center

Graduate Institute Barr-Buchanan Center in Annapolis Campus

Named for the founders of the college’s academic program, the BBC serves as the home of the St. John’s College Graduate Institute, a distinctive community of learning.

 

Bookstore

Annapolis Campus Bookstore

Stop by the campus bookstore to pick up a copy of any book on the curriculum, or get some St. John’s swag such as T-shirts, baseball caps and more. The bookstore is open to the public, generally Monday through Friday.

 

College Cannon

College Cannon on the Annapolis Campus

This cannon, one of 13 dredged out of the Baltimore harbor, was used during the War of 1812.

 

French Monument

French Monument on the Annapolis Campus

This monument, dedicated in 1911 by President William Howard Taft, honors the French soldiers and sailors who were buried on the shores of College Creek during the Revolutionary War.

 

Greenfield Library

Greenfield Library Building Annapolis Campus

The Greenfield Library is housed in the renovated building once known as the Maryland Hall of Records. The library’s collection consists of over 102,000 books, recordings, videos, and print and electronic periodicals. The library is open to the public.

 

Liberty Bell

Liberty Bell on the Annapolis Campus

The replica of the Liberty Bell standing on the front campus is one of 48 cast in 1950 by the U.S. Department of Treasury. This is the state of Maryland’s only copy of the Liberty Bell.

 

McDowell Hall

McDowell Hall Building Annapolis Campus

The former governor’s mansion, McDowell Hall, was completed in 1789 and serves as the foundation for the college; it is now one of the oldest academic buildings in continuous use in the country. In addition to classroom space, the Great Hall serves as a meeting place for the community.

 

Mellon Hall

Annapolis Mellon Hall Annapolis Campus

One of just a handful of famed architect Richard Neutra-designed buildings in existence on the East coast, Mellon Hall features classrooms, meeting spaces, a black box studio theater, and the Francis Scott Key Auditorium, named for the famous St. John’s alum who penned “The Star-Spangled Banner.” President Dwight Eisenhower, after landing in a helicopter on back campus, took part in the dedication of Mellon Hall and the auditorium in 1958. Be sure to stop by for a free Friday night lecture, concert, or theatrical production.

 

/m - The Mitchell Art Museum

Mitchell Art Museum

Located in the center of the campus, the Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Art Museum is the only nationally accredited art museum in the county. /m presents changing art exhibitions to the ever-curious. Its mission is to pose persistent and timely questions about the human experience through art and with extraordinary artists. The museum is free and open to the public. Visit sjc.edu/mitchell for current exhibit information and operating hours.

 

New Program Seal

Program Seal on the Annapolis Campus

The bronze-cast New Program seal is located at the foot of the quad and features the motto “Facio liberos ex liberis libris libraque,” which translates to “I make free adults from children by means of books and a balance.” The “New Program” is the name for the Great Books curriculum that the college adopted in 1937. 

 

Ptolemy Stone

Ptolemy Stone on the Annapolis Campus

A Ptolemy Stone is an ancient device for measuring the angle of the sun compared to the earth, which is the basis for many navigational devices such as the sextant. This Ptolemy Stone is one of the only working versions in the country. Johnnies take four years of math and science, and all first-year students use the device when studying astronomy.